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How Pacha Soap turned its social mission into a successful business
Pacha Soap proves you can change the world from anywhere. In 2010, while a sophomore at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska, Andrew Vrbas volunteered in Peru at a school, teaching sanitation skills to children. “Living in a developing country after being in the U.S., it really changed my perspective,” said Vrbas. He wanted to do something to…
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How Assortify bounced back from Sports Authority’s downfall
E-commerce analytics startup Assortify thought they landed a big win last fall: A contract with Sports Authority. Hayneedle veterans Marcus Goedeker, Jacob Messerly and Jeremy Vlcan started Assortify as a pricing and assortment analysis tool for e-commerce companies. In September 2015 they exited the Straight Shot accelerator in Omaha, Nebraska, with a couple large clients and several potential…
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Pampered Box provides custom subscription boxes for your period
Working at a local post office in Omaha, Veronica Oleson has seen hundreds of popular subscription boxes. Six months ago, she saw an opportunity. “Every month I would run out of tampons, and I’d have to make a special trip to the store. It was a pain,” said Oleson. “After seeing so many subscription boxes, I knew…
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Finally! Rent your unused tools with T’Work
Remember that hammer drill you bought, used once, and stored away to collect dust? What if you could make some money by renting it out? Lincoln, Nebraska, startup T’Work is making it possible. “We want to be a platform that makes people aware of the inventory on their street and brings two parties together,” said…
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MommyAssistant helps parents around the house
When MommyAssistant founder Stephanie Feltus and her husband had their first child they started to understand the old adage, “It takes a village.” During the first few weeks of bringing home their baby, Feltus was often asked when her mother was going to come stay with her. Feltus’ mom lived five hours away and had…
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Upcraft Club wins $40,000 at national InnovateHER competition in DC
Elizabeth Caven, founder of Upcraft Club, won 1st Place in the SBA’s InnovateHER Challenge last night in Washington, DC, winning $40,000 from Microsoft for her pitch. Caven was one of 10 finalists from across the country, after winning a local Innovate HER in Des Moines at Gravitate last summer. “The SBA really has a great initiative supporting women…
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E-commerce company Spreetail wants “to make a dent in the universe”
With $138 million in revenue last year and a new brand identity, Lincoln-based Spreetail is on a hiring spree. Established in 2006 as VM Innovations and officially announcing their name change in late 2015, the hugely successful online retailer Spreetail says the rebranding was about recruitment and awareness. “Archrival did all of our branding and…
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Fat Brain Toys co-founder Mark Carson is probably Santa Claus
Nothing brings out the kid in us all more than the holiday season. The lights, the presents, seeing family, all of it has a way of evoking some nostalgia in us. For Fat Brain Toys co-founder Mark Carson, it was his inner child and nostalgia that lead him to creating the Omaha based toy company. “I’m…
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Ecomitize grows after $700,000 funding round
North Platte, Nebraska based tech company Ecomitize announced this month the expansion of their clientele and their number of employees after another successful round of fundraising. The e-commerce solution company founders Chris Blakely and Jacob North are Nebraska natives who set out with the goal to create the most powerful, flexible, complete end-to-end merchant solution in…
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Upcraft Club wants to change the way you think about sewing
Sewing is no longer just for your grandma or artisanal hipster friend. With Upcraft Club, thousands are enjoying the new technology that is revolutionizing the sewing industry. Upcraft Club, based in Des Moines, Iowa, is an ecommerce marketplace that sells digital sewing patterns. They also sell their patterns through a patent-pending process which allows brick and…